Spring unit lacing machines



May 11, 1965 J. H. HULME ETAL SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Fil ed June 22, 1961 l l W I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventors B ALFRED TURLEY gimme;

y 1955 J. HQHULME ETAL 3,182,689

I r I SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Filed June 22, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors JOHN HENRY HULME JAMES FREDERICK HEMMINGS' 4 ALFRED TURLEY y 1965 J. H.-HULME ETAL 3,182,689

SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Filed June 22, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Inventors JOHN HENRY HULME JAMES FREDERICK HEMMINGS B ALFRED TURLEY tlorne y United States Patent O 3,182,689 SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES John Henry Hulme, Oldbury, James Frederick William Hemmings, West Bromwich, and Alfred Turley, Bushhury, Wolverhampton, England, assignors to Vono Limited, Tipton, England, a company of Great Britain Filed June 22, 1961, Ser. No. 118,983

Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 25, 1960,

4 Claims. (Cl. 140-93) This invention relates to a machine for lacing together coil springs to make up a spring unit, such as the spring interior for a mattress, cushion, or the like, wherein parallel rows of coil springs are laced together at top and bottom by longitudinally extending wire helices which serve to connect together the coils of opposed springs in adjacent rows at top and bottom.

The present invention is concerned with a machine of the type described in, and incorporating the improvements of, our co-pending application No. 844,448, now Patent No. 3,026,914. Such machine has elongated upper and lower frames each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies arranged so that two rows of springs can be held between the jaws whilst they are being laced together at top and bottom by the wire helices and each frame having at one end, mechanism for forming and advancing a wire helix. Such machine in accordance with our co-pending application No. 844,448, now Patent No. 3,026,914 also has transporter mechanism for engaging a row of springs held in the jaw assemblies after a lacing operation has been performed and for moving said row of springs'rearwardly a distance of one row to allow a fresh row of springs to be inserted.

However, a spring assembly as produced from such machine, still requires certain manual operations to be performed upon it before it can be used as a spring interior (e.g. for a mattress). These further operations are needed on each end of each wire helix to bend this end of the wire over the end coil of one of the adjacent springs so as to eliminate the projecting end of the helix and also prevent the helix coming out of position.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in the above mentioned machine which will eliminatev these further manual operations.

According to the present invention, we provide a machine of the type above specified wherein there is provided at each end of the row of jaw assemblies in the upper and lower frames, an attachment for bendingthe end of the wire helix over and around the end coil of the 'end spring in the row of springs next to leave the jaw assemblies such attachment comprising an anvil block and a reciprocating tool which is actuated in timed relationship With the operation of the machine to engage the projecting end of the helix and press this end against the anvil block so as to cause it to bend over and around the said end coil.

In the machine described in the specification of application No. 844,448, each jaw assembly comprises a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, the movable jaw being disposed to the rear side of the machine, that is to say, the side from which the completed spring interior is ejected and all the movable jaws in one row are advanced simultaneously by means of a presser bar which extends from side-to-side of the machine and is moved back and forth in timed relationship with the operation of the machine. Each movable jaw is spring urged outwardly into the open position.

With this arrangement, the reciprocation of the tool for bending the end of the wire helix may be derived from the motion of the presser bar such as by means of an inclined cam face fixed upon the presser bar and having 3,182,689 V Patented May 11, 1965 engagement with one end of the tool which is mounted in a suitable fixed supporting bracket for longitudinal reciprocating movement.

The tool may be arranged so that it reciprocates along a line which is at an angle to the back and forth direction of movement of the presser bar so that the operative end of the tool moves into the V-shaped gap defined by the end coils of two adjacent springs to engage the projecting end of the helix in this gap and force it against the anvil block and around the wire of one of the end coils which is disposed so as to lie outside the operative face of the anvil block.

At the end of each helix which is adjacent the helix forming mechanism, the projecting end will be cut off to an accurate length by the severing mechanism which is associated with the helix forming mechanism but owing to variations in the operation of the machine the other end of each helix may vary somewhat in the amount which it projects outwardly and therefore means are preferably provided at each of these two ends of the machine to sever the projecting end of each helix so as to leave a projecting portion, which is of the correct length for bending over, as above described. Such severing means may be combined with thetool which performs the bending operation. 7

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: p i

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side elevation showing the jaw assemblies at one end of the machine.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view on line 2--2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the bending tool.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective operational ,view of the anvil.

In this example, the attachment according to the present invention is provided in a machine which may be substantially as described and illustrated in the specification of our co-pending application 844,448 to which reference should be made for a detailed explanation of the construction and operation of the jaw assemblies.

In order to understand the working of the invention thev following brief description is given with reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 which do not show all the details of the machine but only those parts vwhich are required to obtain an understanding of how the attachment according to the invention is constructed and mounted and how it functions.

FIGURE 1 shows one of the lower jaw assemblies in the lower frame, indicated by chain dotted lines 10. There are a number of such jaw assemblies arranged side-byside upon the parallel support rods 11 and 12 which extend between upright side frames at each side of the machine. Each jaw assembly comprises the body 13, fixed jaw 14 and movable jaw 15 and as will be seen in FIGURE 1, the end coils of springs 16' and 17 .are in between the jaws just prior to the threading of the helical wire to connect the end coils together.

In the previous cycle the end coils of springs 17 and 18 have been connected by the helix 19 and the end 20 of this helix is now just about to be bent over whilst also in the previous cycle the end 21 of the helix joining the end coils of springs 18 and 22 has been bent over and secured. As seen in plan in FIGURE 2 the end 21 of the helix passes over the top of the end coil and then downwardly into the plane of the paper. After each cycle the rows of springs move one step through the machine (left to right in FIGURE 2).

The upper frame carrying the upper jaw assemblies which operate on the other (upper) end coils of the springs is of the same form as the lower, only being inverted in relation thereto.

' The wire helix which connects the end coils together advances from the forming head in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 2.

It will be appreciated that there will be four attachments for the bending of the ends of the wire helices, two being carried in the upper frame at each end and'two carried in the lower frame at each end and each pair of attachments is mounted upon a fixed bar 23 extending transversley of the machine and mounted fixedly at its ends in the side frames of the machine. \As each attachment is of the same general form, only'one is described hereinafter.

Considering therefore,the attachment for the lower frame at the end adjacent the helix forming mechanism as shown in FIGURE 2, the reciprocating bending tool comprises a rod 24 slidably mounted in a sleeve member 25 formed at the end of one arm 26 of a substantially L-shaped bracket, the other arm 27 of which is formed with a rectangular section recess 28 which embraces the aforesaid fixing bar 23 and is secured thereto by means of a suitable nut 29 engaging the threaded end of a stud 30 projecting from the fixing bar 23.

. The upper arm 26 of the L-shaped bracket extends in a substantially horizontal direction and the sleeve member 25 at its end is formed so that its axis is inclined to the fore and aft direction of the machine so that the rod 24 which forms the bending tool reciprocates along a line which is at an acute angle to the fore and aft direction of the machine. At the other end of the lower frame vthe axis of the rod 24 will be inclined at this same angle but, as will be appreciated, it will be in the opposite direction to the rod seen in FIGURE 2;

The rod 24 has its outer end 31 suitably formed for engagement with the wire of the projecting end 20 of the helix and intermediate its ends has an outwardly projecting peg 32 which has sliding engagement in a slot 33 formed in the sleeve member to prevent any rotation of the rod about its own axis. The other end 34 of the rod projects outwardly of the sleeve member 25 and near its end has fixed thereto a washer 35 which forms a stop for one end of a coil spring 3 6 surrounding the rod and having its other end engaging the adjacent face of the sleeve member 25 so that normally the rod is spring urged outwardly in the direction away from the vWire helix 19. Also this end 34 of the rod is provided with a ball 37 which is seated in a recess in the end of the rod the edges of which recess are suitably peened over the retain the ball in position.

The presser bar 3 8.which actuates the movable jaws (15) is located immediately below the horizontal arm 26 of the tool-carrying bracket and there is secured upon the presser bar at this end a cam block 39 which is in the form of a saddle embracing the top and sides of the 'presser bar and secured thereto by suitable screws.

The one face of such saddle-shaped cam block 39 has cut therein, a V section recess and the rear inclined face 49 of this recess forms the inclined cam face which engages the rear end of the rod-like tool 24. A groove may be formed in such inclined cam face so that the ball end 37 of the rod can run in this groove. When the presser bar is in its outermost withdrawn position (as seen in FIGURE 2), the end 37 of the tool is down near the apex end of the inclined cam face 40 so that as the presser bar moves inwardly (right to left in FIGURE 2) to close the jaw assemblies (15 and 14),

the inclined cam face 40 acts to move the tool inwardly so as to cause its inner end 31 to engage the projecting end 20' of the helix.

The anvil block 41 (see FIGURES 2 and 4) with which the tool co-operates is fixed to the rear end of the movable jaw 15 and if reference is made to FIGURE 2 of the specification of application No. 844,448 it will be seen that the anvil block will be mounted about the mod 20 at the rear of the movable jaw 18 inplace of the plate 21 this rod passing through the passage 42 in the block 41. The rear end of this anvil block is formed with and inclined anvil face 46 which lies in a plane which is at right angles to the axis of the tool 24 and the dimensions of the anvil block are such that, just prior to the bending operation, the end spring in the rearmost row of springs engaged between the jaws, has its lower coil (17 in FIG- URE 4) resting around the anvil block so that the part 44 of the wire of this coil 17 lies across the operative face 43 of the anvil block and in between this face and the operative end 31 of the tool, whilst the helix 19 and the connected parts of the coils Hand 18 rest upon the platform 45 of the anvil block.

In FIGURE 2, in order to avoid confusion in the drawing, the coils 16, 17, and 18 are shown slightly out of this position just referred to and in order to achieve this position the coils have to move a slight amount to the right when it will be seen that the leading edge of coil 17 will drop over the vertical face 46 of the anvil block to achieve the position as described above.

Conse uently when two rows of springsare resting in position with the end coils, (16, 17) in between the jaws, there will be a further row of springs (end coils 18) already laced to the rearmost row (end coils 17) in the jaws and the tool 24 will operate to bend over the propecting end 20 of the wire helix 19 which has laced together these rows of springs. Hence whenthe presser bar 38 moves to close the jaws prior to the lacing together of the tworows of springs which are in the jaws, the tool will also be moved to bend over the end of the wire helix which is connected to the rearmost row of springs and will press this end against the anvil face 43 and cause it to bend 'over and pass through the gap between the part 44 of the end coil and the face 43 of the anvil and around the lower coil of the end spring in this row.

As previously mentioned, at the. other end of the lower frame (and similarly at the other end of the upper frame) the helix may sometimes have more than the correct amount of projecting length for satisfactory bending over and thus at these two positions the end 31 of the rod 24 and the anvil face 43 are modified slightly so that the bending tool will also act as a cutter to cut off any excess Wire prior to the remainder of the projecting end being bent over the wire of the end coil. Such modification is not shown on the drawing but with reference to FIGURES 3 and 4 the end 31 of the bending tool is cut away to provide an inclined shear face which co-operates with a similarly inclined shear face provided on a hardened steel insert set into and projecting from the anvil face 43, so that the engagement between the two shear faces results in any'excess Wire being cut off before the bending tool completes its inwards movement to bend over the remainder of the projecting end of the helix.

What We claim is:

1. A machine of the type specified wherein there is provided at each end of the row of jaw assemblies in the upper and lower frames, an attachment for bending the end of the wire helix over and around the end coil of the end spring in the row of springs next to leave the jaw assemblies, such attachment comprising, an anvil block having a horizontal platform upon which part of the end coil rests during the bending operation, a first vertical face rising from said platform in a plane which is parallel to theaxis of the helix and a second vertical face rising from said platform in a plane which makes an acute angle with the axis of the helix whereby there is left a gap between said second vertical face and the portion of the end coil passing across said second vertical face when the end coil is resting upon said platform; and a bending tool which is mounted for reciprocation along a line substantially in the plane of said end coil and substantially normal to said second vertical face of the anvil block, said toolbeing actuated in timed; relationship with the operation of the machine to engage the projecting end of the helix and press this end against the said second vertical face of the anvil block so as to cause it to bend over the said end coil.

r 2. A machine according to claim 1 in which each jaw assembly comprises a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, the movable jaw being disposed to the rear side of the machine being the side from which the completed spring interior is ejected, all the movable jaws in one row being advanced sirnutlaneously by means of a presser bar which extends from side-to-side of the machine and reciprocated in timed relationship with the operation of the machine, each movable jaw being spring urged outwardly into the open position and wherein the reciprocation of the tool for bending the end of the wire helix is derived from the, motion of the presser bar.

3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein there is an inclined cam face fixed upon the presser bar and having engagement with one end of the bending tool which is mounted in a' suitable fixed supporting bracket for longitudinal reciprocating movement.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein at the end References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,459 4/33 Gail 14092.8 2,663,038 12/53 Gail 14092.8 2,742,934 4/56 Weston l-92.94 2,937,688 5/60 Kirchner -l03 2,974,705 3/61 Kozak 140-92.3

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM F. PURDY, RICHARD A. WAHL,

Examiners. 

1. A MACHINE OF THE TYPE SPECIFIED WHEREIN THERE IS PROVIDED AT EACH END OF THE ROW OF JAW ASSEMBLIES IN THE UPPER AND LOWER FRAMES, AN ATTACHMENT FOR BENDING THE END OF THE WIRE HELIX OVER AND AROUND THE END COIL OF THE END SPRING IN THE ROW OF SPRINGS NEXT TO LEAVE THE JAW ASSEMBLIES, SUCH ATTACHMENT COMPRISING, AN ANVIL BLOCK HAVING A HORIZONTAL PLATFORM UPON WHICH PART OF THE END COIL RESTS DURING THE BENDING OPERATION, A FIRST VERTICAL FACE RISING FROM SAID PLATFORM IN A PLANE WHICH IS PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF THE HELIX AND A SECOND VERTICAL FACE RISING FROM SAID PLATFORM IN A PLANE WHICH MAKES AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH THE AXIS OF THE HELIX WHEREBY THERE IS LEFT A GAP BETWEEN SAID SECOND VERTICAL FACE AND THE PORTION OF THE END COIL PASSING ACROSS SAID SECOND VERTICAL FACE WHEN THE END COIL IS RESTING UPON SAID PLATFORM; AND A BENDING TOOL WHICH IS MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCATION ALONG A LINE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF SAID END COIL AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID SECOND VERTICAL FACE OF THE ANVIL BLOCK, SAID TOOL BEING ACTUATED IN TIMED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OPERATION OF THE MACHINE TO ENGAGE THE PROJECTING END OF THE HELIX AND PRESS THIS END AGAINST THE SAID SECOND VERTICAL FACE OF THE ANVIL BLOCK SO AS TO CAUSE IT TO BEND OVER THE SAID END COIL. 